Looks like Chargers, Rams headed to LA

There will be a NFL stadium in Los Angeles within a few years, and they will attract NFL teams looking for new digs. With that being said it looks like the San Diego Chargers, and the St. Louis Rams are the leading contenders to move to relocate to Los Angeles. It makes a lot of sense in a lot of different ways, both teams have roots in the city of Angels and both are either for sale or having difficulties getting new stadiums built in their current cities.

For the Chargers, who play in an antiquated multi use facility and they want public dollars to ease the cost of a new stadium in San Diego. They say that up to 54% of the cost of at least half of recent NFL stadium construction has been picked up by the public. They fail to realize most of those projects were financed before the economic meltdown. On top of that San Diego is a tourist destination that does not need to spend big dollars on a football stadium. People already like to go there, versus say Detroit who committed public dollars to build its football stadium, because there is no good reason to go to Detroit otherwise.

The Rams are for sale, and it looks like the leading bid contains only a short term commitment to the city of St. Louis. The Rams lease on the Edward Jones Dome contains a provision that the team can leave if that stadium is not within the top 25% of NFL stadium revenues. If the Rams continue to be as bad as they have been that will certainly be the case.

Related Links:

•San Diego Chargers news and notes
•St. Louis Rams news and notes
•The Business of the NFL
•NFL Complete